Notes From a Small Island

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is an unabashed Anglophile who, through a mistake of history, happened to be born and bred in Iowa. Righting that error, he spent 20 years in England before deciding to repatriate. This was partly to let his wife and children experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells.©1998 Bill Bryson; (P)1998 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell, A Division of Random House Inc.

Big Story about a SmallI Island

Bloody brilliant. It felt like being back in England accompanied by one who has lived there with eyes wide open!

Laughed Out Loud

I loved this book and listened to it twice! Bill Bryson's humor is rather dry, but so great. What fun.

Fun, quick listen!

I love the way that he thinks and writes. This is my second of his books and won’t be the last.

Laugh Out Loud Funny

Bill Bryson is such an entertaining writer I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. My husband listened to it with me, and we had such a fit of giggles at one point that I immediately bought Neither Here Nor There, which we listened to with equal pleasure straight after this book. Even if you don't intend to travel to England anytime soon, viewing the country from his American perspective is a blast.

Love of Great Britain

This is a lovingly brief tour of Great Britain by an American who was truly born on the wrong side of the pond.